I made this thread with a little inspiration from the "pre-destiny" thread.

There have been many influential books and essays which changed my outlook of society and in general "life"; it was Daniel Quinn's "Ishmael" which caught my attention and forced me closely examine how we've been programmed from birth to accept principles and understandings which are incoherent and contradictory.

The book is a fairly well-known philosophical and somewhat inflammatory critique of mankind and it's continuous conquest of earth. Being somewhat criticized, I'm wondering if anyone else has read this, and any thoughts?

Highly recommended reading, IMO.

And finally what have you read, or are reading, that made a significant impact on your world view and outlook?

Excellent book. Not philosophical, but it blew my mind some of the engineering ideas and hoaxes society has come up with to achieve the impossible. Half the ideas were legit, and were geared towards making life easier, while the other half were for nothing more than fame and financial gain. I found it fascinating how long people have been obsessing over perpetual motion, and how time and changes in technology helped to drive the obsession. It is a great read for anyone who is interested in mechanics and history.

Excellent book. Not philosophical, but it blew my mind some of the engineering ideas and hoaxes society has come up with to achieve the impossible. Half the ideas were legit, and were geared towards making life easier, while the other half were for nothing more than fame and financial gain. I found it fascinating how long people have been obsessing over perpetual motion, and how time and changes in technology helped to drive the obsession. It is a great read for anyone who is interested in mechanics and history.

A little book called "The Rudiments of Music" taught me to read and speak the language of musicians.

Around the turn of the century The Idiots Guide to HTML sent me on a path of web design; until then I didn't know where to start in creating a "legit" (ie. non Homestead) website. That was followed by years of happy hobbying plus some graphics work for a while.

Philosophically, no one book. Lots of self help, popular psychology and Buddhism books when I was young - the ones that started me were "Your Erroneous Zones" and "I'm OK, You're OK". I've since spent many years gradually shooing out the many bats in my belfry - it's a work in progress.

I only recently noticed "how we've been programmed from birth to accept principles and understandings which are incoherent and contradictory", mainly from listening to rationalist speakers on YT. I was amazed to notice all the archaic and illogical misconceptions that I once simply accepted as fact - they were really programmed into me and never questioned.

Realized that most health issues are tied to your diet and that drugs do nothing to improve health.

Funny, one of my old friends had just mentioned Mr. Gerson's book to me....................he said the results from just a dietary change was amazing...........................going to get the book and research some more

'Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea' by Barbara Demick.
It changed my perspective on a number of things. Before reading it a few years ago, i never understood how much privilege I take for granted.

I read The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand) as a young teen and the idea of art before commerce really resonated with me. As I got older, I came to see Rand as more of a whack-job, but to this day The Fountainhead's core principal with regard to the arts is still intact.

I read The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand) as a young teen and the idea of art before commerce really resonated with me. As I got older, I came to see Rand as more of a whack-job, but to this day The Fountainhead's core principal with regard to the arts is still intact.

From what I remember, the Fountainhead's core principal regarding the arts is: don't do what you have to do to make a living, do what you want to do even if you starve doing it.

"Ishmael" is a favorite of mine. It made me realize why I felt such conflict about so many social norms - they don't make sense!

The author hopes that enough awareness will turn things around, but I am not really so hopeful. Nevertheless, I appreciated the impetus the book gave me to look at things in a new light. Understanding is important, even if it doesn't change the world.

From what I remember, the Fountainhead's core principal regarding the arts is: don't do what you have to do to make a living, do what you want to do even if you starve doing it.

No thanks. And you're right, Rand was a very nasty whack job.

My take away was that it's better to take a day job to keep from starving than to compromise your aesthetic sense if you have one.

Case in point - after many years of making great records and wowing audiences with The Dregs and Steve Morse, Rod Morgenstien decided it would be a good idea to take the Winger gig, swapping out his trademark big smile and tie-dye shirts for big teased up hair and surly sex-god facial expressions, all at the specific direction of the marketing dept, but he went along with it.

Sure, he got paid alright, but I'd say his "brand" took a huge hit and that move did him more long term harm than good. Plus now he has to live down having played in one the most egregiously awful corporate shit-rock bands in history.

My take away was that it's better to take a day job to keep from starving than to compromise your aesthetic sense if you have one.

Case in point - after many years of making great records and wowing audiences with The Dregs and Steve Morse, Rod Morgenstien decided it would be a good idea to take the Winger gig, swapping out his trademark big smile and tie-dye shirts for big teased up hair and surly sex-god facial expressions, all at the specific direction of the marketing dept, but he went along with it.

Sure, he got paid alright, but I'd say his "brand" took a huge hit and that move did him more long term harm than good. Plus now he has to live down having played in one the most egregiously awful corporate shit-rock bands in history.

"Ishmael" is a favorite of mine. It made me realize why I felt such conflict about so many social norms - they don't make sense!

The author hopes that enough awareness will turn things around, but I am not really so hopeful. Nevertheless, I appreciated the impetus the book gave me to look at things in a new light. Understanding is important, even if it doesn't change the world.

Glad someone else chimed in!

Quote:

This land is your land This land is my land
From California to the New York island;
From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and Me.

I've been wanting to reply to this thread, but I couldn't narrow it down to ONE book. But then, inspired by another thread today, I recalled there is one book and one book only that has complete changed and inspired my life: the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu. I think the Stephen Mitchell translation is the best.

If you want to check out Taoist ideas in a simpler format, The Tao of Pooh is really good:
“Rabbit's clever," said Pooh thoughtfully.
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit's clever."
"And he has Brain."
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit has Brain."
There was a long silence.
"I suppose," said Pooh, "that that's why he never understands anything.”
― Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh